


one thought of one burning world

by artepotter



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Meditating, Platonic Relationships, Pre-Relationship, The Last Agni Kai (Avatar), katara is stressed, zuko is trying to teach her how to meditate
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-06
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:34:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23516254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/artepotter/pseuds/artepotter
Summary: Katara and Zuko soon have to face Azula at the palace - they both could use a distraction. Katara asks the firebender to teach her how to meditate. Some feelings remain suppressed, as Sozin's comet arrives, and they have to leave.
Relationships: Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Kudos: 30





	one thought of one burning world

**Author's Note:**

> Woah okay !! I actually worked really hard on this, so i hope you'll like it :D also, their relationship here can be interpreted as both platonic and romantic since I was just going for a meaningful moment between two friends, who love each other. It's up to the reader to decide what kind of love it is. Enjoy!

They didn’t want to finish their morning tea Iroh had prepared them.

Of course, it had nothing to do with the quality of the beverage, their problem was what would wait for them after they had put the cup down. Sozin’s comet. Azula. Aang facing the Fire Lord.

Katara kept squirming in the grass, but tried her best hiding it from the others, especially Zuko, who was about to face – possibly _kill_ – his own sister and needed all of her support. He couldn’t know she was this nervous.

But she could tell from the look on his face, he already knew.

‘Zuko?’ she asked, her voice still quiet like she was somewhere hoping the firebender wouldn’t hear her. ‘Can you meditate?’

Zuko’s eyes rested on her for a few seconds, before looking the other way.

‘Uncle has taught me. I don’t do it often, even though I probably should.’

They let out a weak, yet comforting chuckle.

‘Can you teach me?’

‘Like, now?’

‘Just for a few minutes, before we… head to the palace. I’ve been meaning to try it for a long time now, and I originally planned to ask Aang but as you can tell, things are-’

‘It’s fine, no need to explain,’ Said Zuko, as his features softened. ‘We may want to get away from the others a bit for the silence.’

They walked to a nearby cliff, and sat on the top of it, facing each other.

‘Straighten your back, or whatever’s comfortable for you,’ he started. ‘First, just pay attention to your breathing. Inhale in your nose, exhale through your mouth.’

Their breathing started syncing up, which made all the tension in Katara’s shoulders a little more bearable.

‘Pick one single thought that you’re going to be focusing on, and… let all the others be washed away by the ocean.’

She didn’t know if he specifically chose the ocean for her, or that was just a basic technique – she did not wish to dwell on it.

One thought.

Breathe in.

_Zuko must stay alive._

Breathe out.

_The Fire Nation needs its true leader after Ozai is defeated_.

‘Now, slowly let go of that one thought, too.’

Katara opened her eyes filled with tears, her body tensed up, snapping out of the whole thing.

‘I can’t exactly do that.’

‘You said that real quick, did you even try?’ Zuko now opened his eyes, flashing a mocking smile at Katara, but when their gaze met, all of this just felt fake.

Instead of talking, they listened to the wind, and the nearby, lonely bird singing its last song that night.

Katara looked back at the camp, just to find a reason not to look into a certain ember pair of eyes.

‘We should probably go now, the others seem to have finished packing.’ Before standing up, she bowed. ‘Thank you for the lesson.’

‘We’ll have plenty of time to practice more after this is over’ said Zuko, probably hoping it would reassure her.

After saying goodbye to everyone, they climbed on Appa and headed back to the capital of the Fire Nation.

She followed the clouds around them with her gaze, but even that couldn’t distract her, so she decided to try something different.

She sat next to Zuko, who’s eyes were so locked on the horizon it took a few seconds for him to notice her. Hesitant at first, she reached out to his hand, and before she knew it, he squeezed her hand, sliding closer to her.

Then, Sozin’s comet started to paint the sky to all colors of red and orange, and the friends felt like the world around them had already begun to burn.


End file.
